The BlackBerry PlayBook ultimately got the ball rolling for BB10, and while it’s still running its pre-BB10 QNX-based OS, we’ve heard that a full-on BB10 update is in its future. What about a new, BB10-from-the-ground-up tablet? Last we heard, BlackBerry was still iffy about the idea of a new tablet, but some recent comments from company executives have us reconsidering what it’s really up to.

CEO Thorsten Heins makes it sound like a new tablet is very far from a sure thing. He recently mentioned BlackBerry working on a few tablet designs, but said the company was still trying to work out how to do them right, and have it “not just be another tablet.”

On the other hand, Director of Project Management Mike Al Mefleh was just talking to the press in Dubai, and claimed that a new PlayBook would be among half a dozen new models slated for arrival before the end of the year. He even suggested that it could arrive before July, though didn’t commit to the timeframe, and offered details about its software, mentioning, “we are developing an all new NoteSmartly app for the PlayBook, that will be released in time for the launch of the new BlackBerry PlayBook.”

For the moment, we’re not sure whom to believe. Heins could simply be keeping his cards close to his chest, or maybe the new PlayBook’s fate really is more uncertain than Al Mefleh would have us believe.